Elizabeth’s Early Problems

Question 1

When did Elizabeth become Queen

Answer 1

1558

Question 2

Religious divisions in 1558

Answer 2

-England had been catholic for nearly 1000 years under the Pope until Henry VIII became head of church
-Protestants and catholics were highly opposing

Question 3

Four key issues about the church

Answer 3

-Head of Church and Bishops
-Decoration and Music
-The Clergy
-The Bible and Church services

Question 4

Religious turmoil

Answer 4

She didn’t know whether to keep the Catholic religion , following her sister Mary , or return to Protestantism

Question 5

Poverty and unemployment

Answer 5

Reducing hardship and poverty as much as possible , if harvests , wars or other things went badly , unemployment and high prices would lead to unpopularity , striking rebellion

Question 6

Who would be part of her Privvy council

Answer 6

Who should she choose to be her councillors ? Should she just do it for support , or for religion?

Question 7

Who is the next heir?

Answer 7

Elizabeth had to produce a clear heir if not there would be a civil war

Question 8

France and Spain

Answer 8

-two most powerful countries , both catholic
-England was at war with France , who allied with Scotland , providing a base to invade England
-she had to defend her country or she could be desposed

Question 9

Power of a women?

Answer 9

-women were inferior and could not lead the country
-she had to marry to appease the public

Question 10

Elizabeths legitimacy ?

Answer 10

Questioned by some catholics who believed she couldn’t be Queen because her parents marriage had been illegal

Question 11

What were the problems Elizabeth faced in 1558

Answer 11

-challenges from abroad
-marriage and the succession
-doubts whether a Queen could rule successfully
-choosing her councillors
-religious divisions
-Elizabeth’s legitimacy
-financial weakness - war with France
-peace and prosperity

Question 12

What did she do about her privy council

Answer 12

-William Cecil was her Secretary of State
-aimed for 20 councillors , thanking all past councillors for their work in order to keep their support
-did not make her Closest friend , Dudley a councillor for another 4 years in order to prevent jealousy
-kept about 10 councillors who served under Mary , including high ranking and powerful nobles with considerable experience
-also chose new councillors from relatives and trusted colleagues / supporters

Question 13

What are the extra steps Elizabeth took to avoid tension in her council

Answer 13

-full council did not always meet
-much of the business of government was carried out by a small ring of her most trusted Protestant advisors

Question 14

How did Elizabeth resolve financial weakness

Answer 14

Severely cut back government spending rights and strictly monitored the costs of her household
-exchequer officials were ordered to balance the accounts and call in all debts
-crown lands sold off

Question 15

Exchequer

Answer 15

Looked after the crowns money

Question 16

Scotland

Answer 16

Ruled by Mary Queen of Scots who was married to the Heir of the French throne
-in danger of a joint attack

Question 17

France

Answer 17

England had allied with Spain against France
France also had a direct interest in the crown ( Mary QOS)
-catholic country and many thought Mary should rule England
-wanted to invade on her behalf

Question 18

What did Elizabeth do about challenges from abroad

Answer 18

Peace was signed with France in Jan 1559
-treaty of Cateau-Cambresis
-Calais lost forever

Question 19

How did Elizabeth deal with the problem of her legitimacy

Answer 19

Realistically she could not do anything , even marriage and children would not change the prospect of her legitimacy

Question 20

How did Elizabeth deal with the problem of marriage and succession

Answer 20

-she turned down potential husbands : Philip II and Eric of Sweden , as she focused on the immediate problems of the war with France and religious settlement
-later interested in Archduke Charles and then Duke Francis , but they were both catholic and her advisors were against this as this seemed problematic

Question 21

How did Elizabeth deal with creating peace and prosperity

Answer 21

Key issues = quality of harvests and epidemic of disease
Poverty could lead to uprise
Harvest in 1558 was very good
She was not really in control of this so could not do anything but hope

Question 22

How did Elizabeth deal with the head of church and the bishops

Answer 22

-Elizabeth was head of church but was titled Supreme Governor
-all judges , government officials , MPs , and clergy had to take an oath refusing Elizabeths title
-bishops would run the church

Question 23

If people did not take the oath accepting Elizabeth’s title

Answer 23

They would be imprisoned , if they refused 3 times they were executed

Question 24

What was the impact of Elizabeths head of church and the bishops

Answer 24

Acceptable to most people
-ordinary catholics accepted the title governor , as they could tell themselves the Pope was still the head of the church

Question 25

How did Elizabeth deal with church decoration and music

Answer 25

-ornaments and decorations were allowed in churches
-singing of hymns continued

Question 26

What was the impact of Elizabeth’s church decoration and music

Answer 26

-appearance of church was very very important to people
-by making no changes , most people were content apart from puritans

Question 27

How did Elizabeth deal with the Bible and Church services

Answer 27

-had to be in English
-every church had to have a Bible written in English
-new Protestant prayer book had to be used in every church

Question 28

Impacts of Elizabeth’s Bible and church services

Answer 28

-omission of Latin mass was unacceptable to catholics , but eventually they accepted this as they could take mass secretly later
-Elizabeth’s government knew about this , but didn’t mind as long as the catholics seemed loyal

Question 29

How did Elizabeth deal with the clergy

Answer 29

All clergy had to take an oath , recognising Elizabeth’s title and agreeing to use the new prayer book
-had to wear a surplice rather than the pure black gowns puritans preferred
-were allowed to marry

Question 30

Impact of Elizabeth’s clergy

Answer 30

Most churchmen took the oath of loyalty
Only 250/9000 refused
This meant that services would be conducted by someone usual and familiar